LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

UNITED STATES OF AM ERICA. 
Chap Shelf._...,.|\:fcl 



PRESENTED BY 



.U.mcr^. 



PREPARATION 



TO 



PROFESS RELIGION. 



BY 

L. IVES HOADLY. 



"And be ready always to give an answer to every man that 
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you 3 with meekness 
and fear." — 1 Pet. 3:15. 



BOSTON: 

CONGREGATIONAL BOAKD OF PUBLICATION. 

1858. 



£>Xi : a 






Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1858, by 

SEWALL HARDING, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Mas- 
sachusetts. 

\ 



CAMBRIDGE: 

ALLEN AND FARNHAM, PRINTERS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



To the Convert : — 

To make a profession of religion is a very 
solemn and serious duty. This you may infer 
from the words of the Saviour, Luke 12: 8, 9, 
"Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess 
me before men, him shall the Son of man also con- 
fess before the angels of God ; but he that denieth 
me before men, shall be denied before the angels 
of God ; " and again from what the apostle Paul 
says, Rom. 10 : 9, " That if thou shalt confess 
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe 
in thine heart that God hath raised him from 
the dead, thou shalt be saved." 

Scarcely less important is it to make the pro- 
fession intelligently, and with good understanding 
of all that is involved, according to the counsel of 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

the apostle Peter, 1 Pet. 3 : 15, " And be ready 
always to give an answer to every man that ask- 
eth you a reason of the hope that is in you, with 
meekness and fear." To do this, you need to 
have not only a sound Christian experience, but 
a thorough knowledge of the doctrines and duties 
of religion. Upon such a knowledge, moreover, 
depends, in a great measure, not only your satis- 
faction in making a profession, but your firmness 
and stability in maintaining it, and also your use- 
fulness as a Christian. 

The design of this little book is to assist you in 
obtaining that knowledge. It is made np princi- 
pally of Questions, with Scriptural Eeferences. 
Answers are sometimes given, and Notes are 
added, here and there, by way of direction and 
counsel, or of suggestion, explanation, and cau- 
tion. Most of the questions are plain and simple, 
though some involve others more or less diffi- 
cult. The whole is commended to. your serious 
attention, all the more earnestly because of the 
danger you may be in of coming forward to make 
a profession, as many others have done, with but 



INTRODUCTION. 

a very superficial preparation. The book, though 
prepared so that it may be read without turning 
to the Scriptures referred to, is designed specially 
for study. Take lessons in it, and study them 
thoroughly. Look out the passages quoted briefly, 
and examine them in their connection, and possess 
yourself fully of the teachings they afford. In the 
Experimental Series there are no references, be- 
cause references could not of course be given to 
show how you feel and what you think, but you 
are to answer from your own mind and heart ac- 
cording to your experience, — in all w T hich, how- 
ever, never forget that your religious experience 
must always be judged of by the Word of God as 
the only safe standard. 

You will find the Questions in three series. — 
1. Experimental. 2. Theological. 3. Miscella- 
neous. The references are, many of them, de- 
signedly brief — some also are indirect only ; yet 
such, I trust, will be found pertinent in what they 
imply, and legitimate and sound in application. 
The abbreviations are as in Scripture Question 
Books generally. A line is left blank here and 



D INTRODUCTION. 

there, to indicate a change more or less in the sub- 
ject, or in the bearings of the Questions. 

And now, let me press it upon you, in studying 
these Questions, to reflect carefully and solemnly 
on the truths and duties they bring to view, and 
be faithful with yourself in testing your heart and 
mind by the application of them to your honest 
consciousness, especially those of the Experimen- 
tal Series, and such in the other series as partake 
of an experimental character. And may the 
Lord bless you, and make you a sound, thorough, 
consistent, Bible Christian all your life, to the 
honor of his grace, the comfort of your own soul, 
and the spiritual good of many souls around you. 



QUESTIONS. 



I. EXPERIMENTAL. 

1. Why do you hope you are a Christian ? 

2. How have you been led to view your- 
self as a sinner ? 

3. What, more than formerly, have you 
thought of the character of God, and of his 
holy Law? 

4. What, of the regard He has shown our 
sinful race ? 

5. What, of the way He proposes to save 
us? 

6. Describe what you understand it to be? 
to become a Christian ? 



8 GUIDE TO 

7. How far, in describing it, do you de- 
scribe your own experience ? 

8. How do you regard your own experi- 
ence as compared with that of others ? or, 
wherein do you regard the experience of all 
Christians as alike, and that of individual 
Christians as different ? — Note. Because 
your experience is like that of some whose 
experience you think sound, do not conclude 
that yours must of course be sound ; neither 
because it is not like theirs, that it is of course 
unsound ; but judge of your experience by its 
own proper evidence. 1 Cor. 12 : 6 ; " There 
are diversities of operations, but it is the 
same God which worketh all in all." The 
great question for you to consider is, Does 
your experience accord with what is required 
in the Scriptures ? If you have " good hope 
through grace," it must be based on evi- 
dence ; and the proper evidence of such hope 
is conscious "repentance toward God and 
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ " as the 



THE NEW CONVERT. 9 

only ground of justification and acceptance 
with God, both working together to produce 
obedience to God's will, and devotion to his 
service and the upbuilding of his kingdom 
in the world. Reflect prayerfully and with 
close self-application on John 3 : 6, 7. Rom. 
5 : 1. 2 Cor. 5 : 17. 

9. What is your purpose in life, now that 
you hope you have become a Christian ? 

10. How does Christ's direction, Matt. 6 : 
33, " But seek ye first the kingdom of God 
and his righteousness," appear to you, and 
what is your determination in relation to it ? 
— Note. Read here, with solemn considera- 
tion, what the Saviour says, Luke 14 : 26, 
27 ; " If any man come to me, and hate not 
his father, and mother, and wife, and chil- 
dren, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his 
own life also, he cannot be rny disciple ; 
and whosoever doth not bear his cross, and 
come after me, cannot be my disciple ; " and 



10 GUIDE TO 

again, verse 33 ; " Whosoever he be of you 
that forsaketh not all that he hath, he can- 
not be my disciple." Compare Matthew 
10 : 37, and 16 : 24-28. Consider seriously 
if you are prepared to give religion and its 
duties the first place in your regard. 

11. "What have you thought about enter- 
ing into covenant with God ? 

12. Which has appeared to you the 
greater, the duty, or the privilege? 

13. How has hope and fear, respectively, 
affected you in relation to it ? and what 
conclusion do you rest in, on the whole ? 

14. If you covenant with God, what have 
you thought, as to fulfilling your covenant 
obligations ? 

15. If not truly hearty in covenanting, 
have you thought how it will aggravate 
your guilt ? 

16. Have you fully counted the cost of 
living a truly religious life ? 



THE NEW CONVERT. 11 

17. On what do you rely, in your purpose 
to carry out and sustain such a life? — 
Note. Consult John 10 : 28. 17 : 11, 12, 15. 
Rom. 8 : 28-39. 1 Pet. 1 : 5. 

18. How does a humble, active, self-de- 
nying life appear to you, — inviting, or for- 
bidding? 

19. How r do you regard secret prayer, 
and the devotional reading of the Bible ? — 
Note. Compare your experience with that of 
David, and other saints mentioned in Scrip- 
ture. Consult Ps. 1:2. 63: 6. Acts 17: 11. 

20. How, family worship, meetings for 
social prayer, and for public worship on the 
Sabbath ? 

21. How, all these now compared with 
formerly ? also how, the honor and glory of 
God, — his holiness, justice, and sovereign- 
ty, as well as his goodness ? How, your 
fellow-men, — Christians and the impeni- 
tent? the conversion of sinners, and the 
cause of Christ in the world ? 



12 GUIDE TO 

22. Do you think you heartily approve 
of the penalty of God's holy law, and its 
application to yourself? 

23. Without knowing God's secret pur- 
pose concerning you, can you, do you think, 
cheerfully leave all your future destiny entire- 
ly to his disposal, both for time and eternity ? 

24. How have you thus far succeeded in 
your Christian life ? — Note. This question 
contemplates that there should be suitable 
time after conversion before a profession 
is made, that the convert may have better 
knowledge of his state, and not hurry on to 
a profession half prepared. The apostles, 
with their power of " discerning of spirits," 
admitted to a profession immediately on 
conversion ; yet, in doing so, even they, in 
some instances,- admitted the unworthy, — 
Acts 5 : 1-11, — which may well caution all 
against an over hasty profession ; yet neither 
should a profession be too long delayed. 



THE NEW CONVERT. 13 

25. What embarrassments and discour- 
agements have you found on the one hand, 
and what facilities and encouragements on 
the other ? 

26. How has your experience, thus far, 
proved, compared with your experience, at 
first? If different, wherein? and has it 
been more or less encouraging ? 

27. "Whatever may have been your ex- 
perience, have you a steady purpose and 
desire to persevere in the Christian life ? 

28. Do you seriously think that your natu- 
ral love of the world and its vanities is effect- 
ually broken, so that you can "come out" 
from it without regret, and " be separate ? " 

29. What is now your estimate of the 
grace of Christ to you? and what your 
sense of obligation to him ? 

30. Is it your conviction, that the change 
which you trust is wrought in you has been 
wrought entirely by the Holy Spirit ? 



14 GUIDE TO 

31. "In view of all these questions, how 
stands your evidence that you are a Chris- 
tian ? — Note. Call to mind that beautiful 
line of Cowper, — 

" A soul redeemed demands a life of praise." 

And richer still, and more closely appropri- 
ate, that expression of gratitude and resolu- 
tion of the Psalmist, Ps. 116: 12-14,— 

" What shall I render unto the Lord, 
For all his benefits toward me ? 
I will take the cup of salvation, 
And call upon the name of the Lord, 
I will pay my vows unto the Lord 
Now in the presence of all his people." 



II. THEOLOGICAL. 

1. Why do you believe in God ? Ps. 19 : 

1, 2; "The heavens declare the glory of 
God ; and the firmament showeth his handi- 



THE NEW CONVERT. 15 

• 

work ; day unto day uttereth speech, and 
night unto night sheweth knowledge." 
Rom. 1 : 20 ; " The invisible things of 
Him from the creation of the world are 
clearly seen, even his eternal power and 
Godhead." Heb. 3:4; " Every house is 
builded by some man ; but he that built all 
things is God." 

2. What should you think of him who 
should say that nature, or the universe, is 
God? Ps. 14 : 1 ; " The fool hath said in 
his heart, There is no God." — Note. Read 
" Paley's Natural Theology." 

3. What evidence have you that there is 
a God in your own consciousness as an in- 
telligent and accountable creature ? — Note. 
Besides consulting your own consciousness, 
consult also the 139th Psalm, vs. 1-4 ; " O 
Lord, thou hast searched me, and known 
me. Thou knowest my down-sitting and 
mine up-rising: thou understandest my 
thought afar off. Thou compasseth my 



16 GUIDE TO 

path and my lying down, and art acquaint- 
ed with all my ways. There is not a word 
in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest 
it .altogether." vs. 7-12; ""Whither shall I 
go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee 
from thy presence? If I ascend up into 
heaven, thou art there : if I make my bed 
in hell, behold, thou art there : If I take the 
wings of the morning, and dwell in the ut- 
termost parts of the sea ; even there shall 
thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall 
hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall 
cover me, even the night shall be light about 
me, yea, the darkness hideth not from thee, 
but the night shineth as the day; the dark- 
ness and the light are both alike to thee." 
Here we have the Psalmist's deep con- 
sciousness of the all-surrounding, all-per- 
vading presence of God. And so the Apos- 
tle Paul, Acts 17 : 27, 28, f. c. ; " That 
they [men] should seek the Lord, if haply 
they might feel after him, and find him, 



THE NEW CONVERT. 17 

though he be not far from every one of us : 
for in him we live, and move, and have our 
being." Consider, moreover, the general 
consciousness of all men, whether it does 
not lead to belief in God. The conscious- 
ness of the Psalmist and of the apostle, 
though that of believers was nevertheless 
that of men also ; and though there are 
those who declare themselves atheists, they, 
notwithstanding, show T , many times, in their 
conduct, that they, after all, believe in God ; 
and that their doubt of the being of God, 
and their insensibility to the fact, come 
only of the perverse feeling of "the carnal 
mind " in them, not liking " to retain God 
in their knowledge." Rom. 8 : 7 ; 1 : 28. 
The fact remains the same as to the general 
consciousness of all. How much more, 
then, may one who has been converted, be 
expected to have a greatly quickened sense 
of God's existence. 
2 



18 GUIDE TO 

4. "What do you believe God to be ? — 
Arts. " God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and 
■unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, 
holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." — 
Assembly's Catechism. John 4 : 24 ; " God 
is a Spirit" Ps. 147 : 5 ; " His understand- 
ing is infinite." Ps. 90 : 2 ; " From ever- 
lasting, thou art God." Mai. 3 : 6 ; "lam 
the Lord ; I change not." Heb. 13 : 8 ; 
" Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, and to- 
day, and forever." Ex. 3 : 14 ; "I am that I 
am." Rom. 11 : 33 ; " O the depth of the 
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge 
of God ! how unsearchable are his judg- 
ments, and his ways past finding out ! " 
Gen. 17: 1; "I am the Almighty God; 
walk before me, and be thou perfect." Mat. 
19: 26; "With God, all things are possi- 
ble." Rev. 19 : 6 ; " The Lord God om- 
nipotent reigneth." Eph. 1 : 11 ; " Who 
worketh all things after the counsel of his 
own will." Ps. 99 : 9 ; " Exalt the Lord 



THE NEW CONVERT. 19 

our God, and worship at his holy hill : for 
the Lord our God is holy." Ps. 89: 14; 
"Justice and judgment are the habitation 
of thy throne." Ps. 119 : 68 ; " Thou art 
good, and doest good ; teach me thy stat- 
utes." Num. 23 : 19 ; " God is not a man 
that he should lie." Ps. 146 : 6 ; " Which 
keepeth truth forever." Jer. 10 : 10, mar- 
gin ; "The Lord is the God of truth." — 
Consider further, likewise, how the Lord 
proclaimed his name to Moses at Sinai. 
Ex. 34 : 6 ; " And the Lord passed before 
him [Moses] and proclaimed, The Lord, 
the Lord God, merciful and gracious ; long- 
suffering and abundant in goodness and 
truth; keeping mercy for thousands ; for- 
giving iniquity and transgression and sin ; 
and that will by no means clear the guilty ' r 
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the 
children unto the third and fourth genera- 
tion." 



20 GUIDE TO 

5. What important general relations do 
all things, and you especially, hold to 
God ? Ans. All things, as created objects, 
hold the relation of dependence ; and man, 
as rational, holds not only the relation of 
dependence, but that of obligation and 
accountability. Gen 1 : 1 ; " In the begin- 
ning God created [brought into existence 
from nothing] the heavens and the earth." 
Rom. 11: 36; "For of Him, and through 
Him, and to Him, are all things." Ps. 
100 : 3 ; " The Lord he is God ; it is he 
that hath made us, and not we ourselves." 
Ezek. 18: 4; "Behold," says God, "all 
souls are mine." And the apostle Paul, 
when addressing the Athenians on Mars- 
Hill, Acts 17 : 24, 26, recognized God not 
only as having " made the world, and all 
things therein," but as having " made of one 
blood all nations of men for to dwell on 
all the face of the earth ; " and in his Epis- 
tle to the Romans, he recognizes all, not 



THE NEW CONVERT. 21 

only as creatures of God, but as subjects 
of his government, and accountable to Him. 
Rom. 14 : 7 ; " For none of us liveth to 
himself, and no man dieth to himself;" 
and v. 13 ; " So, then,-every one of us shall 
give account of himself to God." 

6. What important particular relation 
do all men hold to God, in view of the 
gospel? Ans. That of those who are 
under condemnation of his holy law, and 
exposed justly to his righteous indignation; 
but of those also for whom provision is 
made for their pardon on their repentance, 
and who are graciously invited to a state 
of justification and acceptance with God 
through Jesus Christ, the "one Mediator 
between God and man." John 3 : 16 ; " For 
God so loved the world that he gave his 
only-begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him, should not perish, but 
have everlasting life." Rom. 11 : 32 ; " For 
God hath concluded them all [all men] in 



22 GUIDE TO 

unbelief, that he might have mercy upon 
■all." 1 John 2:2; "And he [Christ] is the 
propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours 
only, but also for the sins of the whole 
world." 

7. What peculiar relation do Christians 
hold to God? Arts. That of those who 
have been recovered to God according to 
the provision of his gospel, and who are 
now his " peculiar people, zealous of good 
works," and bound henceforth to " walk in 
newness of life." Eph. 2 : 10 ; " For we 
[Christians] are his workmanship, created 
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which 
God hath before ordained that we should 
walk in them." 

8. What do you think of the reason- 
ableness and probability of a revelation 
from God to man ? — Note. Reflect deeply 
on marts necessity^ and on what we cannot 
but admit must be God's goodness toward 



THE NEW CONVERT. 23 

man, as his creature. — Note. Read Le- 
land's " Necessity and Advantage of the 
Christian Revelation." 

9. If a revelation may be considered 
probable, how must it be as to its being 
fairly intelligible, and satisfactorily at- 
tested ? Arts. It must be both, or reflec- 
tion is cast on God. 

10. What of the Bible as such a reve- 
lation ? 2 Tim. 3 : 16, 17 ; " All Scripture 
is given by inspiration of God, and is 
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- 
rection, for instruction in righteousness; 
that the man of God may be perfect, thor- 
oughly furnished unto all good works." 
Heb. 1 : 2 ; " God, who at sundry times, 
and in divers manners, spake in time past 
unto the fathers, hath in these last days 
spoken unto us by his Son." — Note. Read 
the Preface to Scott's Bible. 

11. If the Bible is not such a reve- 
lation, how can it be accounted for, that 



24 GUIDE TO 

the rites and observances it enjoins, and 
the remarkable facts it relates, should ever 
have obtained respect and credit in their 
day, as they are well known to have done? 
— Note. Read " Leslie's Short Method 
with the Deists." 

12. How do you regard the evidence in 
favor of the Bible from prophecy, in par- 
ticular? Compare John 13: 19. 14: 29. 
Isaiah 43 : 9. — Note. Read " Newton on 
the Prophecies." 

13. Can it be that any man should be 
able to foretell future events, except as 
inspired of God to do it ? — Note. Read 
"Nelson's Cause and Cure of Infidelity." 

14. What must we necessarily think of 
unbelievers who rave against the Bible as 
unworthy of confidence ? Jude v. 16 ; 
" These are murmurers, complainers, walk- 
ing after their own lusts ; and their mouth 
speaketh great swelling words of vanity, 
having men's persons in admiration, be- 
cause of advantage." 



THE NEW CONVERT. 25 

15. What do you think of the moral sen- 
timents of the Bible compared with those 
of other professedly sacred books, as the 
Koran of the Mohammedans and the 
Shasters of the Hindoos, or with any 
works on morals by uninspired authors? 
And what, compared with the demands 
of enlightened consciences ? 

16. What, in general, does the Bible 
teach ? Ans. " What man is to believe 
concerning God, and what duty God re- 
quires of man." — Assembly's Catechism. 

17. What, in general, of God ? — Note. 
See under Question 4. 

18. What, in general, of man? Ans. 
M That he is a creature of God, a free 
agent, moral and accountable, and destined 
to a state of retribution hereafter." See 
under Questions 5 and 6. 

19. What, in particular of God, as to 



26 GUIDE TO 

the mode of his existence? Ans. That 
he is peculiar, or like Himself only; not 
like any of the creatures he has made, 
but triune. The Scripture says, he made 
man "in his own image;" but it has ref- 
erence to man as rational and holy only 
(Comp. Gen. 1: 28), and not as to his 
mode of existence. The Scripture reveals 
first a plurality respecting God. This 
is intimated in the account of creation, 
Gen. 1 : 26, and elsewhere in the Old 
Testament. See Gen. 3: 22. 11: 7. Isa. 
6:8. In the New Testament this plurality 
is revealed more fully, and becomes spe- 
cific as a Trinity. So God is one (Deut. 
6 : 4), but one in such a sense that the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, all 
three make the Unity. Hence the Saviour 
gives the " name " of God in the formula 
of baptism. Matt. 28 : 19 ; " Go ye there- 
fore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 



THE NEW CONVERT. 27 

and of the Holy Ghost." So also at the 
baptism of Christ, Lake 3 : 22 ; " And the 
Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape 
like a dove upon him, and a voice from 
heaven, which said, This is my beloved 
Son: in thee I am well pleased." Here 
the Holy Ghost is named expressly; the 
voice from heaven personates the Father, 
for who else should say "my beloved 
Son;" and the Saviour is of course the 
Son. So, out of many other passages, we 
have Eph. 2 : 18, containing nearly the 
same : " For through Him we both have 
access by one Spirit unto the Father." 

20. What evidence have we, in partic- 
ular, that Christ is God ? Ans. Under the 
name " Angel of the Lord," or " Angel of 
Jehovah," and " Angel of the Covenant," 
he is commonly so recognized in the Old 
Testament; and in the New Testament, 
Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Acts 2 : 



28 GUIDE TO 

/ 

38, says it was He who spake with Moses 
in Mount Sinai; from which, by compar- 
ing it with Ex. 19 : 19. 20 : 1, we may see 
that Christ is God : he gave the law. See 
John Pye Smith's " Scripture Testimony." 
The passages further which are concerned, 
need not all be referred to : The following, 
from the New Testament only, may be 
sufficient. John 1 : 1 ; "In the beginning 
was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, and the Word was God." To see 
who the Word was, compare v. 14 ; " And 
the Word was made flesh, and dwelt 
among us." Acts 10 : 36 ; " Jesus Christ ; 
he is Lord of all." 1 John 5 : 20 ; " We are 
in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus 
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal 
life." Jude v. 25 ; " To the only wise God 
our Saviour, be glory and majesty, do- 
minion and power, both now and ever." 
■ — See under Question 19. 

21. What evidence have we that the 



THE NEW CONVERT. 29 

Holy Spirit is God ? — Note. The phrase, 
" in the name of," Matt. 28 : 19, includes 
the Holy Ghost as truly as it does the 
Father and the Son. Elsewhere also he is 
spoken of as God. Acts 5: 3, 4; "But 
Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled 
thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? .... 
Thou hast not lied unto men [that is, un- 
to men only], but unto God." And, with 
his divinity, his personality is particularly 
brought to view in the following passages : 
Acts 13 : 2; "As they ministered to the Lord, 
and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate 
me [that is, to me, or for me], Barnabas 
and Saul for the work whereunto I have 
called them" v. 4; "So they, being sent 
forth by the Holy Ghost, departed." 16: 
6 ; " Now when they [Paul and Timothy] 
had gone throughout Phrygia, and the re- 
gion of Galatia, and were forbidden of the 
Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia." 
20 : 28 ; " Take heed therefore unto your- 



30 GUIDE TO 

selves, and to all the flock over which the 
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers." 
Further, the Apostle Paul couples the 
Holy Ghost with the Father and the Son, 
in the benediction he pronounces. 2 Cor. 
13 : 14 ; " The grace of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, and the love of God, and the com- 
munion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. 
Amen." 

22. What, in particular of man, as to 
his present character ? Gen. 6:5; " And 
God saw that the wickedness of man was 
great in the earth, and that every imagina- 
tion of his heart was only evil continually." 
Jer. 17 : 9; " The heart is deceitful above 
all things, and desperately wicked." Matt. 
15 : 19 ; " Out of the heart proceed evil 
thoughts, — murders, adulteries, fornica- 
tions, thefts, false witness, blasphemies." 
Rom. 3 : 10-12; "As it is written, There is 
none righteous, no, not one : there is none 



THE NEW CONVERT. 31 

that understandeth ; there is none that 
seeketh after God. They are all gone out 
of the way, they are together become un- 
profitable; there is none that doeth good, 
no, not one." 

23. What was his original or primitive 
character ? Gen. 1 : 26, 27 ; " And God 
said, Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness: so God created man in his 
own image : in the image of God created 
he him." Eccl. 7 : 29 ; " God made man 
upright." 

24. If man is naturally of a different 
character now from what he was at first, 
how are we to account for it? — Note. 
Read Gen. 3, and compare Gen. 1 : 26, 27 
with EccL 7 : 29, 1. c. " but they have sought 
out many inventions." 

25.. How considerably is man depraved? 
Rom. 8:7;" The carnal mind is enmity 
against God : for it is not subject to the 
law of God, neither indeed can be." Eph. 



32 GUIDE TO 

2:3;" Among whom [children of disobe- 
dience] we all [the apostle includes him- 
self, so does not refer to gross heathens 
merely] had our conversation in times past, 
.... and were by nature the children of 
wrath, even as others." See under Ques- 
tion 22. 

26. "What evidence is there that the fail- 
ure of the first pair, in the trial of their in- 
tegrity, has affected so seriously their de- 
scendants ? — Note. If we consider how, in 
the close of creation, "God saw every thing 
that he had made," — and, of course, man, 
— "and, behold, it was very good." Gen. 
1 : 31, and compare with this the state 
of man as he has ever in all ages shown 
himself to be, Ps. 14: 2, 3, we shall have 
evidence enough ; and for the primary 
cause of all the difference between his first 
and present character, the Scriptures refer 
us to the transgression of the first pair. 
Bom. 5 : 12 ; " Wherefore as by one man 



THE NEW CONVERT. 33 

sin entered into the world, and death by- 
sin, — and so death passed upon all men, 
for that all have sinned," — and v. 18, "By 
the offence of one, judgment came upon all 
men to condemnation ; " also, v. 19, " By 
one man's disobedience many were made 
sinners." Consider particularly Gen. 3 : 7- 
10, 16-19, for its effect on the first pair 
themselves. 

27. How can you defend such a trial? 
— Note. Consider if Adam, as the head 
and representative of the race, in the full 
power of his manhood, might not be ex- 
pected to meet the trial with better prom- 
ise of success for all, than could have been 
expected had each one been left to meet it 
for himself, coming to it, as in that case 
each must, in all the weakness and unskil- 
fulness of young and immature powers. 
Consider also, largely, the argument of 
Abraham. Gen. 18 : 25 ; " Shall not the 
Judge of all the earth do right ? " 
3 



34 GUIDE TO 

28. "What, without the Bible, or from 
reason only, should you think of the prob- 
ability that man could 'be recovered from 
his fallen and ruined state, to a state of ac- 
ceptance and favor with God ? Job 9:2; 
"But how should man be just with God? " 
1 Cor. 1 : 21, f. c. ; " In the wisdom of God, 
the world by wisdom knew not God." 

29. What, with the Bible ? John 3 : 14- 
16 ; "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in 
the wilderness, even so must the Son of 
Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but have eternal 
life. For God so loved the world that he 
gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, but have 
eternal life." 1 Tim. 1 : 15 ; " This is a 
faithful saying and worthy of all accepta- 
tion, that Christ Jesus came into the world 
to save sinners." 

30. How must man's recovery be e£- 



THE NEW CONVERT. 35 

fectecl? Arts. Only by his being regener- 
ated, or born again of the Holy Ghost. John 
1 : 13 ; " Which [those who had become 
the sons of God] were born, not of bloody 
nor of the w T ill of the flesh, nor of the will 
of man, but of God." John 3:5; " Except 
a man be born of water, and of the Spirit r 
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
— Note. The sinner is "■ born again," not of 
his own primary choice, but as chosen pri- 
marily of God. John 6 : 44, f. c; " No man 
can come to me, except the Father whicfe 
hath sent me draw him." Rom. 9: 16; 
" It is not of him that willeth, nor of him 
that runneth, but of God that showeth 
mercy." Titus 3:5; " Not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but ac- 
cording to his mercy he saved us, by the 
washing of regeneration, and renewing of 
the Holy Ghost." The "carnal mind" m 
declared, Rom. 8:7," enmity against God;" 
and sinners are declared, Eph. 3 : l y " dead 



36 GUIDE TO 

in trespasses and sins." Now enmity can- 
not love ; it must be changed : nor can that 
which is dead have life, till life is wrought 
in it : it must be " quickened." 

31. Suppose you have been really recov- 
ered or regenerated, as you hope, how was 
it with you as to God's purpose in effecting 
the change ? Eph. 1 : 4, 5 ; "According as 
he hath chosen us in him, before the 
foundation of the world, th#t we should be 
holy, and without blame before him in 
love ; having predestinated us unto the 
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to 
himself, according to the good pleasure of 
his will." 

32. Who is the first mover in regenera- 
tion, God or the sinner ? John 6 : 44 ; " No 
man can come to me, except the Father 
which hath sent me draw him." Compare 
v. 37 ; "All that the Father giveth me shall 
come to me." Rom. 9 : 16 ; " So, then, it 
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that 



THE NEW CONVERT. 37 

runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." 
Ps. 21 : 3 ; " For thou preventest [goest 
before] him with the blessings of good- 
ness." 

33. What important relation holds be- 
tween evangelical truth and regeneration? 
Ans. That of an instrument in thehand of 
an agent, — the instrument being perfectly 
adapted, and the agent perfectly skilled and 
competent, to the production of the work 
contemplated. The truth has no efficiency 
in itself to produce the effect, but the whole 
efficiency is of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 3 : 
6 ; "I have planted, Apollos watered ; but 
God gave the increase." James 1 : 18 ; " Of 
his own will begat he us, by the word of 
truth." 1 Pet. 1 : 23 ; " Being born again, 
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, 
by the word of God, which liveth and 
abideth forever." 

34. What of morality, or formal religious 
observance, or even serious thoughtfulness 



38 auiDE to 

and concern of mind with conviction of 
sin, as to producing or procuring regener- 
ation? Titus 3: 5; "Not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but 
according to his mercy He saved us, by 
the washing of regeneration, and renewing 
of the Holy Ghost." Compare Luke 18 : 
11 ; " The Pharisee stood and prayed thus 
with himself: God, I thank thee, that I 
am not as other men are, extortioners, 
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." 

35. "What are the proper Scriptural evi- 
dences of regeneration, or recovery to 
God's favor? Matt. 7: 16; "Ye shall 
know them by their fruits." John 15: 14; 
" Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I 
command you." Acts 9: 11; "Behold he 
prayeth." 1 John 3 : 14 ; " We know that 
we have passed from death unto life, be- 
cause we love the brethren." 4 : 13 ; " Here- 
by know we that we dwell in Him, and he 



THE NEW CONVERT. 39 

in us, because he hath given us of his 
Spirit." — Note. It is an evidence of re- 
generation if one is conscious of loving the 
whole character of God as exhibited in his 
word, his justice, as well as his mercy, and 
of rejoicing that he will punish the wicked 
as well as bless and glorify the righteous, 
— that he reigns, and will reign forever, 
the high and holy Sovereign of all. 

36. What does the Bible teach, as to 
the permanency of our recovery when once 
effected? Job 17 : 9 ; " The righteous also 
shall hold on his way." Ps.37:24; "Though 
he [the good man] fall, he shall not be 
utterly cast down ; for the Lord uphold eth 
him with his hand." John 10 : 27, 28 ; " My 
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
and they follow me: and I give unto 
them eternal life ; and they shall never 
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of 
my hand." Rom. 8 : 28-30, particularly 
vs. 38, 39 ; " For I am persuaded that 



40 GUIDE TO 

neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor prin- 
cipalities, nor powers, nor things present, 
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
nor any other creature, shall be able to 
separate us from the love of God which 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Phil. 1:6; 
" Being confident of this very thing, that He 
which hath begun a good work in you, 
will perform it unto the day of Jesus 
Christ" 

37. "What is the ground or cause of this 
perseverance of all true believers? 1 Pet. 
1 : 5 ; " Who are kept by the power of 
God through faith unto salvation." 2 Tim. 
4 : 18 ; " And the Lord shall deliver me 
from every evil work, [' all dangers, tempta- 
tions, and adversities/] and will preserve 
me unto his heavenly kingdom." 

38. What as to any danger of hoping 
that we are recovered when we are not? 
1 Cor. 3 : 18 ; " Let no man deceive him- 
self." Prov. 16 : 25 ; " There is a way that 



THE NEW CONVERT. 41 

seemeth right unto a man, but the end 
thereof are the ways of death." Matt. 7 : 
21-23 ; " Not every one that saith unto me, 
Lord, Lord, shalt enter into the kingdom 
of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of 
my Father which is in heaven. Many 
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, 
have we not prophesied in thy name ? and 
in thy name cast out devils? and in thy 
name done many wonderful works ? And 
then will I profess unto them, I never knew 
you : depart from me, ye that work ini- 
quity." Mark the expression : a I never 
knew youP As if He had said : " You 
may have hoped you were my disciple ; 
but I never acknowledged you as such, 
and must exclude you positively and for 
ever." 

39. What of the final slate of them who 
shall prove not to have been recovered? 
John 3 : 36 ; " He that believeth not the Son, 



42 GUIDE TO 

shall not see life, but the wrath of God 
abideth on him." Matt. 35: 46 ; " These 
[those on the left hand in the final judg- 
ment] shall go away into everlasting pun- 
ishment." 2 Thess. 1:0; "Who [they 
that know not God, and obey not the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ] shall be 
punished with everlasting destruction from 
the presence of the Lord, and from the 
glory of his power." 

40. How are we to reconcile the future 
punishment of the wicked with the good- 
ness of God ? or may we conclude there is 
bo such thing? Arts. Reconcile it just as 
we do their present punishment in this 
world ; and we may no more conclude that 
there can be no such thing hereafter, than 
we may that there is no such thing now. 
It is as truly eternity with God now, as it 
will be when all the generations of men 
shall have died. Yet we may not say 
that God does not now punish sin. He 
may then punish it always as well. 



THE NEW CONVERT. 43 

41. What of the notion that the future 
punishment of the wicked spoken of in 
Scripture means annihilation? Ans. It is 
a notion merely, and without the least 
foundation whatever. Its advocates affect 
to found it on the Scripture, but are quite 
nnable. If a creature is to be punished 

$ with everlasting destruction, he must con- 
tinue to exist to receive it. Besides, 
" weeping " and " wailing " and " gnashing 
of teeth," which are images the Scripture 
employs on the subject, can never be pred- 
icable of non-existence, but are the painful 
experiences of those that continue to exist. 
The punishment of the wicked therefore 
spoken of in Scripture cannot be annihi- 
lation. 

42. How ought we to feel toward the 
character of God and his government in 
view of the eternal punishment of the 
wicked ? Rev. 19 : 1-3 ; " And after these 
things I heard a great voice of much 



44 GUIDE TO 

people in heaven, saying, Alleluia : salva- 
tion, and glory, and honor, and power, 
unto the Lord our God: for true and 
righteous are his judgments. For he 
hath judged the great whore, which did 
corrupt the earth with her fornication, and 
hath avenged the blood of his servants at 
her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. 
And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." 

43. Can a truly renewed heart fail to 
feel complacency, and take delight, in all 
God's doings, as well as in all his attri- 
butes, when rightly understood ? 

44. On becoming a Christian, what one 
duty in particular are you called upon 
timely to perform ? Matt. 10 : 32 ; " Who- 
soever therefore shall confess me before 
men, him will I confess also before my 
Father which is in heaven." Compare 
Acts 2 : 47 ; " And the Lord added to the 
church daily such as should be saved." 



THE NEW CONVERT. 45 

45. What is the object in making a pro- 
fession of religion ? 1 Pet. 2:9;. . . « That 
ye should show forth the praises of Him 
who hath called you out of darkness into 
his marvellous light." 4 : 11 ; " That God 
in all things may be glorified through 
Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. 1:9;" Called unto 
the fellowship of his Son." 1 John 1:3; 
" That ye also may have fellowship with 
us. And truly our fellowship is with the 
Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." 

46. May, or may not, a person live and 
die a Christian secretly, and not make a 
profession ? Matt. 10 : 38 ; " He that 
taketh not his cross, and followeth after 
me, is not worthy of me." 16 : 24, 25 ; 
" Then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any 
man will come after me [will be a Chris- 
tian] let him deny himself, and take up his 
cross, and follow me. For whosoever will 
save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever 
will lose his life for my sake, shall find it." 



46 GUIDE TO 

Compare Luke 8: 45-47. This woman, 
though glad to have been healed, yet 
shrank from recognition ; but Christ would 
have her recognize, and bear testimony, to 
the honor of sovereign mercy. And let 
no sinner who ventures to hope he has 
been spiritually healed, withhold himself 
from professing Christ openly before the 
world. The .strong tendency of a good 
hope is to a profession. Rom. 5:5; u Hope 
maketh not ashamed." Matt. 5 : 14-16 ; 
" Ye are the light of the world. A city 
that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither 
do men light a candle," etc. 

47. If a convert neglect to profess Christ 
because he fears he shall not live worthy of 
his profession, what of his excuse ? — Arts. 
Only so much of ingratitude, and so much 
of distrust of Christ, who says, in effect, to 
every believer (2 Cor. 12 : 9), " My grace is 
sufficient for thee." And again (Heb. 13 : 
5), " I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
thee." 



THE NEW CONVERT. 47 

48. How, as to a trial of one's faith and 
Christian courage and determination to 
serve God, does making a profession of re- 
ligion now compare with what it must 
have been in primitive times? — Note. 
Read with reference to the question, the 
Acts of the Apostles, and the early history 
of the Christian church. 

49. What is a church? — Ans. A com- 
pany of believers in Christ, united in the 
same faith and covenant, and associated 
together for the more profitable observance 
of the worship and ordinances he has ap- 
pointed, and for the support and exten- 
sion of his religion in the world. — Note. 
The two disciples with whom Jesus fell in 
company on their way to Emmaus, recog- 
nized his followers as a distinct class. Luke 
24 : 22 ; " Yea, and certain women also of 
our company." So Luke, speaking of Pe- 
ter and John, who had been imprisoned, 



48 GUIDE TO 

says, Acts 4 : 23, " being let go, they went 
to their own company;" and again, 15: 
22, he speaks of " their own company " as 
the church, or part of " the whole church." 
In a large sense, all true churches collec- 
tively are the church — all true believers in 
the true God, and in the way of salvation 
through Jesus Christ. This is the church 
universal. 

50. When, and after what manner, was 
the church first formed ? Gen. 12 : 1-3. 
— Note. We have here the first step towards 
forming the church, in God's call to Abra- 
ham. Compare Josh. 24 : 2. Abram was 
now seventy-five years old; twenty-four 
years after, when he was ninety-nine, the 
next step was taken, and the church formed. 
Read the account Gen. 17 : 1-14. The 
clause, Gen. 4 : 26, " Then began men to 
call on the name of the Lord," and the 
phrase, Gen. 6:2," the sons of God," af- 
ford very slight evidence, if indeed any at 



THE NEW CONVERT. 49 

all, of an antediluvian church organization. 
This, in the family of Abraham, was evi- 
dently the first. It was, too, the foundation 
of the Jewish church, which is everywhere 
in the New Testament regarded as the 
foundation of the Christian church. The 
organization may be considered to have 
been comparatively rude, as being adapted 
to the age of the world when it was form- 
ed ; but it looked forward to Christ ; for so 
Christ says of Abraham, that ' he rejoiced 
to see his day, and that he saw it and was 
glad,' John 8 : 56. Abraham believed in 
Christ prospectively, and God entered into 
covenant with him accordingly. To un- 
derstand exactly how it was with Abraham, 
read Rom. 4: 10-12; how it was with 
Israel as a people, 11: 16-21; and how it 
is with Christians in reference to Abraham 
and the covenant made with him, Gal. 3 : 
11-29. 

5.1. What of the form of the church now 
4 



50 GUIDE TO 

as compared with its form before Christ, or 
till he came ? Heb. 9 : 10 ; « Which stood 
only in meats and drinks, and diverse wash- 
ings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on 
them until the time of reformation," — that 
is, till the gospel should introduce a spirit- 
ual worship. 1 Pet. 2 : 5 ; "Ye also, as 
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house," 
— a society or church in whose worship 
there is no mediation of priest or sacrifice, 
but the offering of the penitent and contrite 
, heart by every humble worshipper for him- 
self through the mediation of Christ alone. 
Phil. 3 : 3 ; " For we are the circumcision 
which worship God in Spirit, and rejoice in 
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the 
flesh." Col. 2 : 11 ; " In whom also ye are 
circumcised with the circumcision made 
without hands in putting off the body of the 
sins of the flesh by the circumcision of 
Christ." — Note. The Christian is the abid- 
ing or permanent form of the church, — a 



THE NEW CONVERT. 51 

form not to be superseded by another, as 
the Patriarchal was by the Jewish, and the 
Jewish by the Christian. Heb. 12 : 28 ; "A 
kingdom which cannot be removed," — 
which is to remain till the end. So the or- 
dinance of the Lord's Supper is recognized 
by the Apostle Paul as abiding to the end. 
1 Cor. 11 : 26 ; " For as oft as ye eat this 
bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the 
Lord's death till he come." 

52. What are the ordinances of the 
Christian church ? — Ans. Baptism and the 
Lord's Supper. Luke 22: 19, 20; "And 
he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake 
it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my 
body, which is given for you." Matt. 38 :: 
19 ; " Go ye, therefore, and teach all na- 
tions, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost." 

53. When were the ordinances instir 



52 GUIDE TO 

tuted ? and which before the other ? — Arts. 
They seem to have been instituted in the 
reverse order of their first observance by the 
'•convert, the Lord's Supper at the close of 
Christ's last Passover, and Baptism just be- 
fore his ascension. See Luke 22 : 19, 20. 
Matt. 26: 26-30, for the Lord's Supper; 
and for Baptism, Matt. 28 : 19, comparing 
verse 18, — " and Jesus came," — with Acts 
1 : 4-9, — " and being assembled," etc. 

54. How does it appear that baptism in 
the Christian church takes the place of cir- 
cumcision in the Abrahamie and Jewish? 
— Ans. The covenant with Abraham was 
with him as " the Father of us all," — all 
Christians as well as believing Jews before 
Christ came, — all who believe, Rom. 4 : 
16. Hence it was called an " everlasting 
covenant;" that is, a covenant that should 
last while there should be believers. Com- 
pare Gen. 17 : 13, 19 : Isaiah 24 : 5. 



THE NEW CONVERT. 53 

Circumcision was, by God's special ap- 
pointment, made the seal of the covenant, 
and so it continued till Christ appointed 
Baptism to be the seal. The two, there- 
fore, being seals of the same covenant, are, 
of course, of the same significancy; and 
circumcision being discontinued, baptism 
takes its place. 

55. How, that infant children of believ- 
ing parents should be subjects of baptism, 
and their parents under obligation to offer 
them in baptism accordingly? — Ans. In 
God's wisdom and goodness, they were in- 
cluded in the covenant at first, and have 
never been excluded,— the covenant has 
never been restricted, — therefore they are 
proper subjects of baptism ; and the duty of 
believing parents to offer them remains. 
The fact that in the New Testamant the 
household is spoken of as having been bap- 
tised on the faith of its believing head, 
shows the same. While Lydia and her 



54 GUIDE TO 

household were baptized, she only is spoken 
of as believing, — " If ye have judged me to 
be faithful," that is, believing, or to have 
become a Christian, said she. See Acts 
16 : 15. Compare also 1 Cor. 1 : 16. It 
was not to be expected that in the New 
Testament we should find the covenant ap- 
pointed anew. It was not necessary that it 
should be. This recognition of it is enough. 
The Jews had always been accustomed to 
the recognition of children with their par- 
ents in the covenant. Consider also how, 
as infant baptism was undoubtedly included 
in the command of Christ appointing the 
ordinance, — Matt. 28 : 19, — it has accord- 
ingly always been practised ever since the 
days of the apostles, from whom, and the 
first Christians, it must of course have come, 
as the early Christian Fathers testify. 

56. What of the mode of baptism ? — 
Ans. If we consider fully and candidly all 



THE NEW CONVERT. 55 

the circumstances , with all the probabilities 
involved in each individual case in which 
baptism is spoken of in the New Testament, 
we shall hardly be able to think it could 
have been any other, in any instance, than 
that of sprinkling, or affusion. Acts 10 : 
47, implies plainly that what was contem- 
plated was, that water was to be brought for 
use in some vessel carried in the hand. So, 
too, in the case of the jailor, Acts 16: 33. 
In other cases also, as that of Paul, it is 
plainly next to impossible it should have 
been by any other mode. Acts 9 : 1-19, 
f. c. compare particularly v. 9 with vs. 17- 
19, f. c, where the eircumstances are con- 
clusive. Baptism is something besides go- 
ing to, or into, the water. Individuals are 
spoken of as going to, or into, the water, and 
then as being baptized. The water was 
applied to them, not they to the water. 
Besides, since the gospel is to be preached 
in all the world, — " to every creature," — 



56 GUIDE TO 

it may be reasonably expected that its rite 
of discipleship should be such that it might 
be complied with under any circumstances, 
— on a journey, for instance, as was the 
case with the eunuch, Acts 8 : 28, 36-39 ; 
that it would be safe, decent, and becom- 
ing ; in keeping with the greatest delicacy 
and propriety ; nor less with the greatest 
self-possession, composure, reverence, and 
solemnity in all concerned. And what 
could partake more of this character than 
the mode of sprinkling clean water upon 
the candidate ? It is to be remembered, too, 
that the water applied in baptism is an 
emblem only, not as if by any quantity, 
however applied to us, or we to it, we were 
to be made clean, but it denotes purifica- 
tion and consecration henceforth to the 
Lord. See Isaiah 52 : 15, where it is spoken 
of prospectively in this light in reference to 
the Messiah and the reign of the gospel : 
" So shall he sprinkle many nations." Ob- 



THE NEW CONVERT. 57 

serve the note and cuts in illustration of the 
passage in the Comprehensive Commen- 
tary. 

57. What must we naturally conclude 
as to the essential importance of mere 
mode or manner in any religious observ- 
ance ? 1 Sam. 16 : 7 ; " The Lord looketh 
on the heart." Gal. 5:6; " For in Christ 
Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing 
nor uncircumcision, but faith which w T orketh 
by love." Rom. 10 : 10 ; " For with the 
heart man believeth unto righteousness." 
John 4 : 24 ; " God is a Spirit, and they that 
worship him, must worship him in spirit 
and in truth." — Note. Where a specific 
form itself is prescribed, there it must, of 
course, be essential. Under the Mosaic 
law, where the priest was directed (Lev. 
14 : 27) " to sprinkle the oil with his right 
finger," it would not have done for him to 
pour the oil nor to sprinkle it with his 
left finger ; but where mode or form is not 



58 GUIDE TO 

specifically enjoined, there it can be of no 
essential importance ; and such is the case 
in relation to baptism. 

58. What difference is there between 
Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as to rep- 
etition ? — Arts. The celebration pf the 
Lord's Supper is to be repeated often to 
the end of life ; baptism is to be received 
but once. 1 Cor. 11 : 26 ; " For as oft as 
ye eat this bread." — Note. The manner 
of expression here necessarily implies fre- 
quency in observing the ordinance of the 
Supper. Acts 2:4; " Then they that 
gladly received his word were baptized." 
Here the manner of expression implies as 
clearly that baptism is not to be repeated. 
And where one baptized in infancy allows 
himself to receive baptism again in mature 
years, what does he do but virtually de- 
spise the wisdom and goodness of God, 
who plainly in wisdom and goodness saw 
fit to include the infants in his covenant 



THE NEW CONVERT. 59 

with believing parents ? And how he reflects 
upon his pious parent (who offered him 
in baptism in obedience to God's require- 
ments), as though he would take back that 
consecration they made of him to God, im- 
ploring God's blessing on him then in the 
morning of life, that God would keep him, 
and bring him into his kingdom. As if Isaac, 
on coming to be a man, had complained of 
his father Abraham for obeying God's 
command, and had wished he had not 
been circumcised when an infant, that he 
might have the pleasure of receiving the 
rite in manhood. Let any one who is 
tempted to renounce his infant baptism 
and be baptized again, study his Bible 
more closely, and understand how God's 
covenant with believers under the Christian 
dispensation is the same that it was under 
the Jewish and the Patriarchal back to 
Abraham, in whose family God was pleased 
first to form a church organization. 



60 GUIDE TO 

59. What form of church organization 
and government is prescribed in the Scrip- 
tures? Arts. No one form in express 
terms ; but obligations, duties, and princi- 
ples are recognized, instructions to churches 
are given, and doings of churches are re- 
lated, which leave no room to doubt that 
the Congregational is the only true scrip- 
tural form. This, too, agrees best every- 
way with the main object and general 
spirit of the Gospel, which seeks to en- 
lighten all to know their duty, and then 
holds them to the responsibility of doing 
it ; making every simple, individual church 
an active, working body in all its members, 
and not a part of a compound, irrespon- 
sible, inert body, to be worked by some 
authority out of itself, whether Pope, 
Bishop, or Elders and Pastors. Such it 
probably came from the Jewish Synagogue 
state, they who made up the habitual con- 
gregation of professed believers being " the 



THE NEW CONVERT. 61 

church " in each particular place as then 
spoken of. So our Saviour, Matt. 18: 17, 
" tell it unto the church," for there is no 
reason to suppose he spoke here prolepti- 
cally, but rather every reason to conclude 
that he spoke as he could be naturally 
understood to speak, of the customary 
synagogue congregation. The term, that 
is, the word, church, was doubtless used in 
the restrictive sense, as we now use it, 
when it came to be employed to desig- 
nate a Christian brotherhood ; but it was 
still in the Congregational sense, includ- 
ing all the brotherhood in common. Such 
was the case no doubt, and it is confirmed 
by the history of the first Christian council, 
Acts xv., and the manner in which Paul 
speaks of the relations of individual mem- 
bers of a church in the matter of church- 
discipline, and of a whole church to indi- 
vidual members of same, — all showing 
plainly that the first and apostolic form of 



62 GUIDE TO 

the Christian church was purely the inde- 
pendent Congregational; nor have any of 
all the advocates of other forms ever been 
able to show a scripture basis for their 
forms to compare at all with this for the 
Congregational; and it is pleasing to notice 
how the tendency of things at large in the 
Christian world seems to be more and 
more to liberality towards this form. Thus in 
the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance in 
Berlin, Prussia, Sept. 1857, there were pres- 
ent to commune together from all the different 
forms of evangelical profession " not much 
less," says the report of one of their num- 
ber, " than 1,400 men of position in church 
and state ; " an example this, certainly, 
of inclination toward the Congregational 
principle, though among denominations, 
rather than individual churches. 

60. Is the Gospel to be succeeded by 
another dispensation, or is it the last ? — Ans. 



THE NEW CONVERT. 63 

God has dealt with the race under different 
dispensations, as the Patriarchal, Mosaic 
or Jewish, and the Christian ; but that the 
Gospel or Christian dispensation is the 
last under which he will deal with it in 
this probationary state, may be inferred 
from various Scriptures. Heb. 1 : 2, where 
the time of the Gospel is called " the last 
days ; " 9 : 26, in which Christ is said to 
have appeared once "in the end of the 
world ; " and 1 Cor. 10 : 11, where the apos- 
tle speaks of himself and his fellow- Chris- 
tians as living under the last dispensation, 
" upon whom," says he, " the ends of the 
world are come." Compare also Gal. 4 : 4, 
and Eph. 1 : 10. See under Question 51. 
61. What may be expected in the ma- 
turity of this Christian dispensation? — Arts, 
The millennium, or that state of the world 
in which truth and piety shall correct and 
do away with sin and wickedness in all 
their forms, and promote universal purity, 



64 GUIDE TO 

peace, and happiness in all mankind. Dan. 
2: 44. 

62. What of its termination ? — Arts. It 
will terminate in the end of the world, and 
a final judgment of all the individuals of 
the race, in which each and every one 
will be rewarded according to his deeds. 
2 Pet. 3: 10; "But the day of the Lord 
will come as a thief in the night, in which 
the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat ; the earth also and the works 
that are therein shall be burned up." Eccl. 
11 : 9 ; " Rejoice, O young man, in thy 
youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the 
days of thy youth, and walk in the ways 
of thine heart, and in the sight of thine 
eyes ; but know thou that for all these 
things, God will bring thee into judgment." 
12 : 14 ; " For God shall bring every work 
into judgment, with every secret thing, 
whether it be good, or whether it be evil." 



THE NEW CONVERT. 65 

Matt. 12 : 36 ; « Every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof 
in the day of judgment." 2 Cor. 5 : 10 ; 
" For we must all appear before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ; that every one may 
receive the things done in his body, ac- 
cording to that he hath done, whether it 
be good or bad." Compare Acts 17 : 30, 
31. Rom. 2: 6-11. 14: 10, 12. Matt. 
25: 31-46. 

63. What great event will there be in 
connection with the end of the world, and 
preceding the final judgment? John 5: 
28, 29 ; " The hour is coming in the which 
all that are in the graves shall hear his 
voice, [the voice of the Son of God,] and 
shall come forth ; they that have done 
good unto the resurrection of life; and 
they that have done evil, unto the resur- 
rection of damnation." Comp. 1 Cor. 15 ; 
1-58. 

5 



66 GUIDE TO 

64. What of the final state of the right- 
eous and of the wicked ? Matt. 25 : 46 ; 
" And these [those on the left hand in the 
final judgment] shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment ; but the righteous into 
life eternal" 



III. MISCELLANEOUS. 

I. What two great principles must the 
Christian always observe in all his con- 
duct ? Matt. 22 : 37-40 ; " Thou shalt love 
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and 
with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 
This is the first and great commandment. 
And the second is like unto it, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On 
these two commandments hang all the 
law and the prophets." 

2^ What one great principle of pecu- 



THE NEW CONVERT. 67 

liarity must the Christian observe toward 
his fellow- Christians? John 13: 34; "A 
new commandment I give unto you, That 
ye love one another ; as I have loved you, 
that ye also love one another." 1 John 3 : 
11 ; " This is the message that ye heard 
from the beginning, that ye love one 
another." 

3. What assemblage of Christian virtues 
and graces ought every Christian to seek 
to make his attainment ? Phil. 4 : 8 ; 
" Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are 
true, whatsoever things are honest, what- 
soever things are just, whatsoever things 
are pure, whatsoever things are of good 
report ; if there be any virtue, and if there 
be any praise, think on these things." 
2 Pet. 1 : 5-8 ; " And besides this, giving 
all diligence, add to your faith, virtue ; and 
to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, 
temperance ; and to temperance, patience ; 
and to patience, godliness ; and to godli- 



68 GUIDE TO 

ness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly- 
kindness, charity. For if these things be 
in you, and abound, they make you that 
ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in 
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 

4. Why is consistency of conduct of 
special importance in the Christian ? Matt. 
£: 14; « Ye are the light of the world." 
v. 16 ; " Let your light so shine before 
men, that they may see your good works 
and glorify your Father which is in 
heaven." 1 Pet 2: 12; " Having your 
conversation honest among the Gentiles, 
that whereas they speak evil against you 
as evil-doers, they may, by your good 
works which they shall behold, glorify God 
in the day of visitation." 

5. Why, special regard to exact truth, 
without coloring? — Am. Because, without 
special regard to it, most people are very 
liable to give a coloring, more or less, to 



THE NEW CONVERT. 69 

what they say. Acts 24 : 16 ; " And herein 
do I exercise myself to have always a 
conscience void of offence toward God, 
and toward men." Eph. 4 : 25 ; " Where- 
fore, putting away all lying, speak every 
man truth with his neighbor, for we are 
members one of another." Col. 3: 9,10; 
"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye 
have put off the old man with his deeds, 
and have put on the new man, which is 
renewed in knowledge after the image of 
him that created him." — Note. Even Chris- 
tians are not always as careful as they 
should be, to avoid all false and exag- 
gerated representations. 

6. "When conscience and expediency 
conflict, which shall we follow ? or, when 
the doing of a thing is questionable in itself, 
but in present circumstances seems to 
promise good — shall we do it? John 7: 
24 ; " Judge not according to appearance,. 



70 GUIDE TO 

but judge righteous judgment." Rom. 3: 
8 ; " And not rather (as we be slander- 
ously reported, and as some affirm that we 
say), Let us do evil, that good may come, 
whose damnation is just." — Note. God 
only, in any case, can foresee all the ulti- 
mate bearings and results of our doing 
or not doing this or that. Therefore we 
must govern ourselves, not by expediency, 
but by the unerring rule of God's word. 
Guided by that, we shall always come out 
right. A distinguished president of one 
of New England's most favored colleges 
was wont to say to his scholars : " If you 
have any doubt, young gentlemen, respect- 
ing a thing, whether it is right, never do it, 
however fair it may promise." 

7. When our views, as to measures, or 
a course of policy to be pursued, differ 
from those of others with whom we are 
called to act, how tenacious may we be of 
our own? and how shall we treat those 



THE NEW CONVERT. 71 

from whom we are constrained to differ? 
Gal. 2 : 11 ; " But when Peter was come 
to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, 
for he was to be blamed." Acts 15 : 
36-40. — Note. Paul and Barnabas, on oc- 
casion of difference, " departed asunder," 
yet not in anger, as appears. "We are not 
to be opinionated and self-willed, but open 
to conviction of misapprehension ; yet, 
when settled in judgment, after prayer and 
deliberation, we are to be firm and perse- 
vering in what we judge to be right, till 
we are fairly proved to be mistaken. Tf 
found in a minority, though we may re- 
tain our own opinions, yet having dis- 
charged our duty while the matter in 
question was pending, we are now bound, 
— unless we withdraw, — to abide in good 
faiths till Providence shall open further. 

8. What should you regard your duty in 
relation to meetings of the church, whether 



72 GUIDE TO 

for worship or for business ? Heb. 10 : 
23-35 ; " Not forsaking the assembling of 
yourselves together, as the manner of some 
is." Read the whole passage. — Note. In 
meetings for business, though it is not 
expected the sisters in a church will debate 
or vote in form, it is expected (see 1 Cor. 
14 : 34, 35) they will be present, to hear 
and judge ; and their presence is of great 
importance. The opinion, or judgment, of 
the most enlightened and best women, 
has deservedly great influence with the 
ftiost enlightened and best men. 

9. Is it a sufficient excuse for absence 
from the worship of God's house, that the 
weather is not pleasant, or the preacher 
not brilliant and popular, — that the labors 
of the week have been exhausting, or that 
you have a difficulty with the church or 
society, or any of the members of either ? 
Acts 2:1;" And when the day of Pen- 
tecost was fully come, they were all with 



THE NEW CONVERT. 73 

one accord in one place." — Note. It was 
the remark of a good man, — " an old dis- 
ciple," — now gone to his rest, that if he 
were ever to be absent from the com- 
munion without good reason, he should 
think he ought to make an acknowledg- 
ment to the church. 

10. If it is a duty to attend the meet- 
ings of the church, how is it as to acting' 
when any business calling for action comes 
before it ? Gal. 6:5; " For every man shall 
bear his own burden." Compare Rom. 2 : 
6. 1 Cor. 3:8. 1. c. , — Note. How many 
Christian professors seldom or never fail to 
be present and act in secular meetings, who 
seldom or never attend and act in church 
meetings ! Is this right, and according to 
Christ's instruction ? Matt. 6 : 33 ; " Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God, and his 
righteousness." Ps. 137 : 5, 6 ; " If I for- 
get thee, O Jerusalem, [another name only 
for religion and its interests,] let my right 



74 GUIDE TO 

hand forget her cunning. If I do not 
remember thee, let my tongue cleave to 
the roof of my mouth : if I prefer not Jeru- 
salem above my chief joy." 

11. If you refuse to act on any question, 
how will it be as to your right afterwards 
to criticize and condemn the action of oth- 
ers ? Compare Acts 24 : 19 ; " Who ought 
to have been here before thee, and object, if 
they had ought against me." 

12. Is a wish to save time, or to avoid 
the responsibility of acting, a justifiable ex- 
cuse for not attending and not acting ? — 
Note. In any matter under consideration, if 
the result should depend on a single vote, 
might not that vote be yours? and how 
then as to your responsibility ? If you 
would say you have not made up your 
mind on the subject, how is it as to one's 
duty as a Christian and a member of the 
church of Christ, to give attention to a sub- 
ject so as to have a mind upon it, what is 



THE NEW CONVERT. 75 

right and proper, and act it out, one way or 
another, as one who will do his duty, when 
called to, although it be trying and respon- 
sible ? Reflect on Rom. 14 : 5 ; " Let every 
man be fully persuaded in his own mind." 
Eccl. 9: 10; "Whatsoever thy hand find- 
eth to do, do it with thy might." 

13. How ought Christians to treat one 
another in the common intercourse of life ? 
— Note. See under Ques. 2. Rom. 12: 
10 ; " Be kindly affectioned one to another, 
with brotherly love ; in honor preferring one 
another." James 4 : 11, 12 ; " Speak not 
evil one of another, brethren. He that 
speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his 
brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth 
the law ; but if thou judge the law, thou art 
not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is 
one Lawgiver, who is able to save, and to de- 
stroy : who art thou that judgest another? " 
Reflect on Matt. 23 : 8 ; "All ye are breth- 
ren." 



76 GUIDE TO 

14. If a member of the same church 
with you, offend against you, what is your 
duty in the case? Matt. 18: 15-17; 
" Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass 
against thee, go and tell him his fault be- 
tween thee and him alone : if he shall hear 
thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if 
he will not hear thee, then take with thee 
one or two more, that in the mouth of two 
or three witnesses every word may be 
established. And if he shall neglect to hear 
them, tell it unto the church : but if he neg- 
lect to hear the church, let him be unto 
thee as an heathen man and a publican." 

15. Though the offence of another be not 
against you directly, but against your pas- 
tor, or any other brother or sister, against 
the church in general, or even against any 
of the world without, would you not still 
owe it in faithfulness to yourself, to the 
erring, to the church, to the world, and 



THE NEW CONVERT. 77 

above all to God Most High, to " rebuke " 
him ? Lev. 19 : 17 ; " Thou shalt not hate 
[be offended with] thy brother in thine 
heart [secretly and not tell him of it], thou 
shalt in anywise rebuke thy neighbor, and 
not suffer sin upon him." 

16. How should we administer Chris- 
tian reproof to an erring brother or sister ? 
Gal. 6:1;" Brethren, if a man be over- 
taken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, 
restore such an one in the spirit of meek- 
ness ; considering thyself lest thou also be 
tempted." 

17. Have we any right to assume that 
the erring will repel our fidelity, and there- 
fore neglect our duty to him through fear 
of losing his presence in public worship, 
and his pecuniary aid in supporting it ? 

18. On becoming a member of the 
church, should you ever be admonished 
yourself, in what temper and spirit will it 
be your duty to receive the admonition? 



78 GUIDE TO 

Ps. 141 : 5 ; " Let the righteous smite me : 
it shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove 
me : it shall be an excellent oil, which shall 
not break my head : for yet my prayer also 
shall be in their calamities." 

19. Are you willing to engage^ that, on 
becoming a member of the church, you will 
give and receive reproof in this manner, and 
in general abide by the instructions brought 
to view in these Questions ? 

20. Do you shrink from assuming the 
obligations of a life so strict and faithful 
every way ? Luke 9 : 62 ; "And Jesus said 
unto him, No man having put his hand to 
the plough, and looking back, is fit for the 
kingdom of God." — Note. Estimate by 
what is required, how pure, holy, and loving 
Christ would have all his followers ; and 
how, if all would only live in the spirit and 
manifestation of such a life, it would prove 
as "life from the dead" to all the w T orld 
around. 



THE NEW CONVERT. 79 

21. What, as to the conduct you are to 
maintain toward the world? Eph. 5: 15; 
" See then that ye walk circumspectly, not 
as fools, but as wise." Col. 4 : 5, 6 ; " Walk 
in wisdom toward them that are without, 
redeeming the time. Let your speech be 
always with grace seasoned with salt, that 
ye may know how ye ought to answer 
every man." 1 Thess. 4 : 10-12 ; " We be- 
seech you, brethren, that ye increase more 
and more [in love], and that ye study to 
do your own business, and to work with 
your own hands, as we commanded you, 
that ye may walk honestly toward them 
that are without, and that ye may have 
lack of nothing." 

22. What, as to faithfulness in all ap- 
pointments and engagements? — Note. The 
highest example was set us by the Saviour. 
Matt. 26 : 32 ; " But after I am risen again 
I will go before you into Galilee." 28 : 16 ; 



80 GUIDE TO 

" Then the eleven disciples went away into 
Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had 
appointed them. And when they saw him 
they worshipped him." The Psalmist also 
describes the good man as one who will 
abide by his pledge, although it prove to his 
disadvantage. Ps. 15 : 4 ; " He that swear- 
eth to his own hurt, and changeth not." 

23. What, of your duty as a Christian 
to support the public ministrations of the 
gospel, and spread it abroad in the world ? 
Luke 10 : 7, 2d c. ; " The laborer is worthy 
of his hire." 1 Cor. 9 : 14 ; " Even so hath 
the Lord ordained that they which preach 
the gospel should live of the gospel." Com- 
pare vs. 4, 5, 6, 12. — Note. In these pas- 
sages it is contemplated that the preacher 
of the gospel has a just claim to support 
from those to whom he ministers; and each 
one is equally bound to pay his proportion 
of the expense, according to his ability and 



THE NEW CONVERT. 81 

the amount of his accommodation. If the 
minister waive his claim, he so far virtu- 
ally gives it to them who ought to pay it, 
or to the cause of religion in general. Matt. 
28 : 19 ; " Go ye therefore and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
Ghost, teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you ; and 
lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world." — Note. Here we have 
Christ's great command, showing how, not 
his first disciples alone, but the church 
prospectively as well, is solemnly charged 
to publish and spread abroad the gospel till 
all, in all the world, are made acquainted 
with it. 

24. By what rule shall we be governed, 
as to the amount we shall give for the sup- 
port and spread of the gospel ? — Note. 
The earliest rule to give, in general, to the 
6 



82 GUIDE TO 

Lord was, to give one tenth. So Jacob at 
Bethel. Gen. 28 : 22 ; " Of all that thou 
shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth 
unto thee." Compare Lev. 27 : 32 ; " The 
tenth shall be holy to the Lord." Under the 
gospel, the rule is, — " as God hath pros- 
pered " us, and " according to that a man 
hath." 1 Cor. 16: 2. 2 Cor. 8: 12. The 
same, indeed, was the rule under the law of 
Moses. See his farewell speech to Israel. 
Deut. 16 : 16, 1. c. 17 ; " And they shall not 
appear before the Lord empty ; every man 
shall give as he is able, according to the 
blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath 
given thee." 

25. In what you do for the support and 
extension of the gospel, do you mean to be 
governed by this rule ? 

26. Ought any to be regarded as true 
and consistent Christians, who refuse to be 
governed by this rule ? John 15 : 14 ; " Ye 
are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I com- 
mand you." 



THE NEW CONVERT. 83 

27. In any religious society, is it right to 
call on some to do more, while others do 
less, than their just and fair proportion? 
2 Cor. 8: 13, 14; " For I mean not that 
other men be eased and you burdened, but 
.... that there may be equality." 

28. How ought you to regard benefi- 
cence and liberality, in general? — Ans. 

1. As < lending to the Lord,' Prov. 19: 17. 

2. As a ' sacrifice with which God is well 
pleased,' Heb. 13 ; 16. 3. As i what we 
should do to all men as we have opportu- 
nity, especially to the household of faith,' 
Gal. 6 : 10. 4. As acting in conformity to 
that great saying of Christ, — " It is more 
blessed to give than to receive," Acts 20 : 
35. — Note. Consider also what Christ said 
of the poor widow who cast in two mites 
into the treasury, Mark 12: 42-44; and 
especially what the Apostle Paul enjoins 
on Timothy, 1 Tim. 6: 17, 18; " Charge 



84 GUIDE TO 

them that are rich in this world, that they 
be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain 
riches, but in the living God, who giveth 
us richly all things to enjoy, — that they 
do good, that they be rich in good works> 
ready to distribute, willing to communi- 
cate." 

29. What is conformity to the world? 
and what is the duly of the Christian in 
relation to it ? — Note. By the world m 
meant all those in general who are not 
Christians ; and conformity to it means 
compliance with their opinions and prac- 
tices. The Christian may understand his 
duty a*s to conformity to the world, from the 
following Scriptures, Rom. 12: 2; "Be 
not conformed to this world." 1 Pet. 1 r 
13-16 ; " "Wherefore gird up the loins of 
your mind, be sober and hope unto the 
end .... as obedient children, not fash- 
ioning yourselves according to the former 



THE NEW CONVERT. 85 

lusts ill your ignorance ; but as he which 
hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all 
manner of conversation ; [all speech and 
behavior] because it is written, Be ye holy, 
for I am holy." 1 John 2 : 15, 16 ; " Love 
not the world, nor the things that are in the 
world. If any man love the world, the love 
of the Father is not in him. For all that is 
ki the world, the lust of the flesh, and the 
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not 
of the Father, but is of the world." — Note. 
If you cannot ask the blessing of God upon 
what you are thinking to do, and hope to 
review it with thankfulness, refrain from it ; 
and even with this rule, you will chance 
sometimes to get snared. Whatever the 
world, and the great body of Christians, con- 
demn as inconsistent with piety, and think 
less of the Christian professor for doing, — 
as dancing, attending the theatre, and play- 
ing games of chance and the like, with all 
vain and foolish amusements, and trifling 



Ob GUIDE TO 

conversation, — these things avoid, as you 
would have a pure conscience, and enjoy 
the complacent smile of the Saviour. See 
Ques. 28, 1st series. 

30. What, in relation to the Sabbath, is 
your duty, — first, toward yourself? Ex. 
20: 8; "Remember the Sabbath day to 
keep it holy." — Note. The strict'and care- 
ful observance of the Sabbath is of the 
highest personal benefit to the Christian. 

31. What is your duty as to the per- 
formance of any secular labor or busi- 
ness on the Sabbath ? Ex. 20 : 9 ; " Six 
days shalt thou labor and do all thy 
work." — Note. All the work, labor, or 
business that is needful for one to do, the 
command contemplates he shall do in six 
days. So it says expressly " all thy work." 
The prohibitory clause likewise forbids do- 
ing any work on the Sabbath, v. 10, "in it 
thou shalt not do any work." 



THE NEW CONVERT. 87 



32. What, in relation to the Sabbath, is 
your duty- — second, towards others? Ex. 

20 : 10 " Thou, nor thy son, nor thy 

daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid- 
servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that 
is within thy gates," — that is, neither you. 
yourself, nor any under your care, or shar- 
ing your hospitality, shall you allow to " do 
any work " on the Sabbath. — Note. The 
proper observance of the Lord's day, on the 
part of all the members of a truly religious 
family, is well adapted to make a deep and 
salutary impression upon any one, espe- 
cially any one who happens to be in such 
a family from a family which pays little or 
no regard to the Sabbath. 

33. What should be your regard for the 
conversion of sinners, and the upbuilding of 
the church of which you shall be a mem- 
ber ? Ps. 119 : 136 ; " Rivers of water run, 



88 GUIDE TO 

down mine eyes, because they keep not thy 
law." Read the Book of Jeremiah in illus- 
tration. Consider, also, in illustration of a 
desire to gather others and build up the 
church, the example of Andrew, Simon 
Peter's brother, and that of Philip of Beth* 
saida. John 1 : 41, 45, 46. These, making 
the acquaintance of Jesus themselves, were 
anxious to bring their friends to know him: 
" We have found the Messias, .... him 
of whom Moses in the law and the proph- 
ets did write." . . • . " Come and see." 

34. What of the instrumentalities, espe- 
cially that of the parent, — his instruction, 
authority, counsel, exhortation, and prayer, 
— all the various influences he can employ? 
Gen. 18: 19; "For I know him that he 
will command his children and his house- 
hold after him, and they shall keep the 
way of the Lord, to do justice and judg- 
ment." Compare Eph. 6: 4; "And, ye 

Lift 



THE NEW CONVERT. 89 

fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, 
but bring them up in the nurture and admo- 
nition of the Lord." Compare 2 Tim. 1 : 5. 
And generally in relation to all, reflect on 
Rom. 12 : 6-8 ; ".Having then gifts, differing 
according to the grace that is given unto us, 
whether prophecy, let us prophesy accord- 
ing to the proportion of faith ; or ministry, 
fet us wait on our ministering ; or he that 
teacheth, on teaching ; or he that exhorteth, 
on exhortation ; he that giveth, let him do 
it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with dili- 
gence ; he that showeth mercy, with cheer- 
fulness." 

35. What of the Sabbath school? 
Mark 10 : 14 ; " Suffer the little children to 
come unto me, and forbid them not." 
Compare Luke 14 : 33 ; " Go ye out into 
the highways and hedges, and compel them 
to come in." 

36. On a change of residence, what duty 



90 GUIDE TO 

will you owe the church you leave, and 
what, the church to which you shall go ? — 
Note. Paul recognizes the members of the 
church at Rome, Rom. 12 : 4, 5, — at 
Corinth, 1 Cor. 12 : 12-27, and at Ephesus, 
Eph. 4 : 25, — all in their several connec- 
tions, as in the closest bonds of unity one 
with another, even as the different mem- 
bers of the human body — from which we 
may infer the duty of holding open, free, 
and hearty membership in any church, 
wherever we may reside, and of cooperat- 
ing cheerfully with it for the upbuilding of 
the cause of Christ. Whenever you go 
from the church to which you belong, — • if 
for transient residence, take a letter of in- 
troduction to the church, or pastor of the 
church, where you go, — and if for perma- 
nent residence, a letter of dismission and 
recommendation. And be careful to deliver 
your letter and be recognized at once as a 
Christian, professor. Many fail to do so ? 



THE NEW CONVERT. 91 

and willingly hide their Christian profes- 
sion. Consider, also, when you go where 
there are several churches, in connection 
with which of them you may hope to be 
most useful as a Christian, and not in which 
you may chance to strike higher in the 
world's esteem. Kvery way, plan for Christ, 
and live to him, rather than to yourself. 

37. In view now, then, of all the Ques- 
tions in all the series, what, may I hope, is 
your regard for the Christian profession ? — 
Note. Let me hope this, of Ruth to Naomi 
her mother-in-law, may be appropriate to 
express your regard. Ruth 1 : 16, 17; "And 
Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or 
to return from following after thee ; for 
whither thou goest, I will go ; and where 
thou lodgest, I will lodge ; thy people shall 
be my people, and thy God, my God ; where 
thou diest, I will die, and there will I be 



92 GUIDE TO 

buried. The Lord do so to me, and more 
also, if aught but death part thee and me." 



CONCLUSION. 

You have now examined what involves 
the essential principles and duties of the 
Christian profession. Nor can you, I think, 
be otherwise than deeply sensible that very 
great importance attaches to the manner in 
which you enter upon and prosecute that 
profession. The end takes character from 
the beginning. See, therefore, that you be- 
gin well. Be always and everywhere a 
hearty, consistent Christian. This is the 
way, and the only sure way, to be what 
every Christian ought to be ; the only way 
to glorify God, and do the greatest good to 
men. Be thorough in the beginning of 
your Christian life, and you will be the 



THE NEW CONVERT. 93 

more likely to persevere. Let nothing 
break the regularity and constancy of your 
private intercourse with the Bible and with 
God. Thus you will come to be an intel- 
ligent, growing, useful Christian, — "like 
a tree planted by the rivers of waters," 
whose fruit shall not fail, nor leaf wither* 
Ps. 1 : 3. 

KND* 



StP 13 1900 



